Optical drive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism

ABSTRACT

The invention presents an optical drive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism comprising a frame, a disk receiving apparatus, a speed reduction apparatus, a driving apparatus, and a disk ejecting actuating part. Relying on the disk ejecting actuating part positioned on the frame, which is provided with a gear portion for driving the speed reduction apparatus and a roll stem portion positioned at the center of the gear portion extruding along the central axis. Users can use a tool going through a through hole of the housing turning the roll stem portion to rotate the gear portion and enable the speed reduction apparatus to move the disk receiving apparatus to the feeding/ejecting position. A through hole is disposed on the housing corresponding to the roll stem portion, so as to avoid the through hole being disposed on the operation panel to affect the appearance of the operation panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an optical drive loader with amanual disk ejecting mechanism, particularly to a CD player loader whichoffers a manual disk ejecting mechanism when the electronic controlleddisk ejecting mechanism does not operate normally or fails to function.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] When compared with the conventional magnetic storage media,Compact disks possess the features that, firstly, compact disks aredurable after written the image, music, or electronic data thereon;secondly, compact disks have a longer life than other conventionalstorage means because the date reading of compact disks is accomplishedby lens optics rather than physical reading means used in prior art.Therefore, such optical storage medium has become popular in recentyears. More and more compact disks are available in the market.

[0005] Conventional designs of CD players, such as a VCD player, a DVDplayer and the like, the feeding/ejecting mechanism of a CD player canbe categorized into two types, one is the tray-in type and the other isthe slot-in type. The tray-in type uses a tray, which extends from andretracts back to the-CD player body. Users place a compact disk on thetray (or remove the CD from the tray) when the tray is in extendedposition. The tray holding the compact disk thereon is received in theCD player body after the tray retracts back. On the other hand, theslot-in type utilizes a disk clamping mechanism in a CD player body.Users insert the compact disks through an insertion slot installed inthe housing of the CD player such that the disk clamping mechanism canclip the Compact disks, retract back to the CD player body and proceedto data reading or data reprocessing. When ejecting a disk, the diskclamping mechanism moves toward the insertion slot. The disk is ejectedpartially at the insertion slot so as to allow the users to remove theCD.

[0006] Both in the tray-in type and the slot-in type of feeding/ejectingmechanism, a CD player typically uses integrated circuit (IC) to controlthe servo-motor for driving the feeding/ejecting mechanism. The ICcontrol operation is powered by electricity. In the absence of a manualdisk ejecting mechanism, when the electronic control system does notoperate normally or fails to function, the compact disks is held insidethe CD player. The process to remove said compact disk involves withdisassemble the CD player and cannot be done by a layperson. As aresult, if users desire to use said compact disks, they have to seekprofessional help at a maintenance center. The process may be timeconsuming and impractical. On the other hand, if users choose todisassemble the CD player on their own, it may result in damage duringdisassembly and may cost more for the users to have the CD playersrepaired.

[0007] In order to overcome the foregoing problems, i.e. a CD player cannot eject the disk when the electronic control system does not operatenormally or fails to function, some models are equipped with a manualdisk ejecting mechanism. As shown in FIG. 1, a loader 2 installed in thehousing 10 of a CD player is disclosed. Since the feeding/ejectingmechanism of the loader 2 is the emphasis of the present invention,those elements, such as the power supply apparatus, signal processingcircuits, etc. are all received inside the housing 10, not relating tothe subject matter will not be described in detail hereinafter.

[0008] The loader 2 mainly comprises a frame 21, a tray 22 slidinglycoupled to the frame 21, a speed reduction transmission mechanism 23installed on the frame 21 for driving the tray 22 to move, a drivingmotor 24 positioned on the frame 21 for driving the speed reductiontransmission mechanism 23, wherein the speed reduction transmissionmechanism 23 comprises a first gear 231, a second gear 232 moved by thefirst gear 231, and a third gear 233 moved by the second gear 232 suchthat the third gear 233 can move a rack 221 correspondingly installed onthe tray 22. By means of the actuating gear 241 which is installed onthe spindle of the driving motor 24 for driving the first gear 231 torotate, the speed reduction of the speed reduction transmissionmechanism 23, and the rack 221, the tray 22 can transfer the rotationmotion of the driving motor 24 into a linear motion with a proper speed.

[0009] When operating normally, by means of an electronic controlsystem, one can make the tray 22 to extend from and retract back to theframe 21 by controlling the rotation direction of the driving motor 24.For preventing the tray 22 from failing to move, which may be caused bythe malfunction of the electronic control system, a sector gear 25positioned on the frame 21 and a spring 251 for maintaining the sectorgear 25 at a fixed position are installed and a through hole 11 ispositioned on the front panel 101 of the housing 10. When the electroniccontrol system fails to activate the driving motor 24 to move the tray22, users can stick a slender rod 12 going through the through hole 11to move the sector gear 25 toward the third gear 233. It follows thatthe gear end of the sector gear 25 is enabled to move the third gear 233to rotate a limited angle which is just enough to drive the rack 221 ofthe tray 22 and cause the tray 22 to extend from the frame 21 a properlength. Consequently, the disk is manually ejected, and users can pullout the tray 22 and pick up the disk on the tray 22.

[0010] However, one of the disadvantages of such a manual disk ejectingmechanism is that a through hole 11 needs to be disposed on the panel101 of the housing 10 for a slender rod 12 to go through. However, sucha through hole 11 may affect the appearance of the entire operationpanel 101; moreover a spring 251 needs to be installed for maintainingthe sector gear 25 at a fixed position when operating normally so as notto affect the normal rotation of the third gear 233. Such a designobviously needs additional construction parts so that the cost isincreased and the assembly becomes difficult.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, another conventional design of a manual diskejecting mechanism is disclosed. The operation is very similar to theone as shown in FIG. 1, despite the driving motor and the speedreduction transmission mechanism 32 are arranged differently on theframe 31. In this conventional design, the speed reduction transmissionmechanism 32 comprises a first gear 321 driven by a driving motor, and asecond gear 322 driven by the first gear 321 so as to move a slot-intype disk clamping apparatus 33.

[0012] As a result of the limited space on the frame 31 and thedisposition of the entire construction, the manual disk ejectingmechanism is a screw rod 34 installed on one side of the frame 31 fordriving the first gear 321 to rotate. When the driving motor does notoperate normally or fails to function, one can use a tool such as ascrew driver to rotate the screw rod 34, drive the first gear 321 andthen make the disk clamping apparatus 33 to eject the disk. However,such a design still has some disadvantages. One of the drawbacks is thatthe screw rod 34 is installed on one side of the frame 31 inside thehousing 30. Although there is no hole disposed on the operation panel ofthe housing 30 as the one shown in FIG. 1 so that the appearance is notbe altered. When the manual disk ejecting is required, users need todisassemble the housing 30 first because it does not allow the user todrive the screw rod 34 externally. Another drawback is that the gearratio between the screw rod 34 and the first gear 321 is so high thatfor rotating the first gear 321 with one turn, the screw rod 34 needs tobe rotated with several turns. As a result, it is time-consuming whenmanually ejecting a disk, as the screw rod 34 needs to be rotated agreat number of turns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] A primary object of the invention is to present an optical driveloader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism which does not affect theappearance of the operation panel and does not require dismantle thehousing for ejecting a disk so as to make it simple to be used.

[0014] The optical drive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanismaccording to the present invention includes a frame, a disk receivingapparatus, a speed reduction apparatus, a driving apparatus, and a diskejecting actuating part. Relying on the disk ejecting actuating partpositioned on the frame, which is provided with a gear portion fordriving the speed reduction apparatus and a roll stem portion positionedat the center of the gear portion extruding along the central axis.

[0015] When the driving apparatus does not operate normally or fails tofunction, users can use a tool going through a through hole of thehousing turning the roll stem portion to rotate the gear portion andenable the speed reduction apparatus to move the disk receivingapparatus to the feeding/ejecting position. A through hole is disposedon the housing corresponding to the roll stem portion, so as to avoidthe through hole being disposed on the operation panel to affect theappearance of the operation panel. Also, users are allowed to stick atool going through the through hole for turning the disk ejectingactuating part so as to achieve the effect that it is not necessary todismantle the housing for ejecting the disk manually.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The following detailed description, given by way of an exampleand not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments describedherein, will best be understood in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of aconventional CD player loader having a manual disk ejecting mechanism;

[0018]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of anotherconventional CD player loader having a manual disk ejecting mechanism;

[0019]FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of a preferredembodiment of an optical drive loader having a manual disk ejectingmechanism according to the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a partial structure of thepreferred embodiment illustrating the relationship between the positionsof the disk ejecting actuating part and the speed reduction apparatus;

[0021]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the disk ejecting actuating partof the preferred embodiment;

[0022]FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the transmission connectionbetween the disk ejecting actuating part and the first gear of thepreferred embodiment; and

[0023]FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the relation between thepositions of the disk ejecting actuating part and the first gear of thepreferred embodiment when they are not coupled together.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] Refers to FIG. 3 showing the structure of a preferred embodimentof a CD player loader 5 having a manual disk ejecting mechanismaccording to the present invention. The CD player loader 5 is installedin a housing 40 of a CD player. The housing 40 has a panel 401 for usersto operate thereon and there is an insertion slot 402 on the panel 401for feeding/ejecting a compact disk. The loader 5 comprises a frame 51,a disk receiving apparatus 52, a speed reduction apparatus 53, a drivingapparatus 54, and a disk ejecting actuating part 55.

[0025] The frame 51 is installed in the housing 40 and is shaped inaccordance with the whole mechanism design. The disk receiving apparatus52 may be a slot-in type disk clamping apparatus or a tray-in type. Inthe preferred embodiment, it is a slot-in type disk clamping apparatusfor holding and positioning a compact disk. The slot-in type diskclamping apparatus is slidingly coupled to the frame 51 such that thedisk receiving apparatus 52 is movable between the feeding/ejectingposition 402, which is close to the insertion slot 402 of the housing40, and a data reading position, which is far away from the insertionslot 402. A rack 521 is installed on the disk receiving apparatus 52along the moving direction of the disk receiving apparatus 52.

[0026] A speed reduction apparatus 53 is installed on the frame 51 fordriving the disk receiving apparatus 52. In the preferred embodiment,the speed reduction apparatus comprises at least a first gear 531, asecond gear 532 which is engaged with the rack 521 of the disk receivingapparatus 52 and driven by the first gear 531. In the preferredembodiment, the first gear 531 is formed with a first circular gearportion 5311 on outer edge with more teeth and a second circular gearportion 5312 with less teeth which is coaxial with the first circulargear portion 5311 and extends outward. The first gear 531 transmits therotation motion to the second gear 532 by means of a first speedreduction gear 533 and a second speed reduction gear 534, which isdriven by the first speed reduction gear 533.

[0027] The driving apparatus 54 is positioned on the frame 51 forsupplying power to the speed reduction apparatus 53. In the preferredembodiment, the driving apparatus 54 is a driving motor, which is usedto drive the first gear 531 and then make the second gear 532 to drivethe rack 521 of the disk receiving apparatus 52 such that the diskreceiving apparatus 52 can move linearly.

[0028] The disk ejecting actuating part 55 is also positioned on theframe 51 as shown in FIG. 4. In the preferred embodiment, the diskejecting actuating part 55 is positioned under the first gear 531 forcooperating to the extending direction of the second circular gearportion 5312 of the first gear 531. Referring to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, thedisk ejecting actuating part 55 comprises a gear portion 551 whichdrives the second circulation portion 5312 of the first gear 531, and aroll stem portion 552 which positions at the center of the gear portion551 and extrudes outward along the central axis. The roll stem portion552 is positioned on the frame 51 and appeared under the frame 51., Aproper slot 5521 is formed as shown in FIG. 5, which is a cross slot. Athrough hole 41 is disposed on the housing 40 corresponding to the rollstem portion 552.

[0029] When operating normally, the rotation direction of the drivingapparatus 54 is controlled electronically as a conventional CD player iscontrolled. The rotation speed of the driving apparatus 54 is reduced bymeans of the speed reduction apparatus 53. The rotation motion istransferred to linear motion by the rack 521 of the disk receivingapparatus 52 so as to move the Compact disks held on the disk receivingapparatus 52 forward and backward between the feeding/ejecting positionand the data reading position.

[0030] When the driving apparatus 54 does not operate normally or failsto function, users may stick a cross screw driver, a flat screw driver,or the like, going through the through hole 41 to couple with the slot5521 of the roll stem portion 552 and turning the roll stem portion 552to rotate the gear portion 551. The gear portion 551, instead of thedriving apparatus 54 drives the second circular gear portion 5312 of thefirst gear 531 to move the disk receiving apparatus 52 to thefeeding/ejecting position. When the disk receiving apparatus 52 is infeeding/ejecting position, the users then are allowed to remove thecompact disk. As a result, without dismantling the housing 40, a compactdisk manual ejecting can be easily achieved.

[0031] Moreover, because the axis of the disk ejecting actuating part 55is parallel with the one of the first gear 531, the disk ejectingactuating part 55 is then perpendicular to the moving direction of thedisk ejecting receiving apparatus 52 such that the through hole 41 thatis provided for cooperating to the roll stem portion 552 of the diskejecting actuating part 55 is not required to be positioned on theoperation panel 401 of the housing 40. The through hole 41 in accordancewith the preferred embodiment is positioned on the bottom of the housing40 so that the appearance of the whole operation panel 401 is not bealtered.

[0032] When a user executes the manual disk ejecting operation, the useris allowed to stick a tool going through the through hole 41 on thebottom of the housing 40 and turning the disk ejecting actuating part 55without dismantling the house 40. Further more, the transmissionproportion of rotation speed between the gear portion 551 of the diskejecting actuating part 55 and the second circular portion 5312 of thefirst gear 531 is minor. In other words, the present invention offers apower saving means for ejecting compact disks and avoids the extra laborrequired when using a screw rod to eject a disk in the prior art as aresult of low the transmission rotation speed.

[0033] When operating normally, in order to prevent the disk ejectingactuating part 55 and the first gear 531 from being cogged which maygenerates transmission resistance of the speed reduction apparatus 53and noise. As shown in FIG. 4, a smooth toothless region 5511 is formedon the edge surface of the gear portion 551 of the disk ejectingactuating part 55. At a corresponding position on the frame 51, apositioning pair 553 is disposed on the surface of the gear portion 551facing the frame 51. In the preferred embodiment, the positioning pair553 comprises a bump 5531 and a corresponding shallow recession 5532,the bump 5531 is formed on the surface of the gear portion 551 and theshallow recession 5532 is formed on the frame 51. When the drivingapparatus 54 operates normally, the bump 5531 is coupled to the shallowrecession 5532, as shown in FIG. 7, to provide an interference forcesuch that the gear portion 551 is rotated to a specific orientation toprevent the toothless portion 5511 and the second circular gear portion5312 from being cogged.

[0034] In summary, the CD player loader 5 with a manual disk ejectingmechanism according to the present invention in which the disk ejectingactuating part 55 has the advantages of simple design, easy operation,low manufacturing cost. The operation is accomplished withoutdismantling the housing 40 within a short time. The present inventiondoes not alter the appearance of the panel 401 of the housing 40 and asa result substantially enhances the competitiveness of the product inthe market.

[0035] While the invention has been described with reference to variousillustrative embodiments, the description herein should not be construedin a limiting sense. Despite the foregoing detail description relates toCD players, which are taken as a household electronic device; however,the present invention can also apply to a CD-ROM drive used incomputers. Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, aswell as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon reference to this description. It is thereforecontemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modificationsor embodiments as may fall within the scope of the invention defined bythe following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical drive loader with a manual diskejecting mechanism installed in the housing of an optical drive, whereinthe housing has a panel provided for a user to operate thereon and thepanel has an insertion slot provided for feeding/ejecting a disk, saidloader comprising: a frame installed in the housing; a disk receivingapparatus slidingly coupled to the frame and movable between afeeding/ejecting position close to the insertion slot and a data readingposition away from the insertion slot; a speed reduction apparatusinstalled on the frame for driving the disk receiving apparatus; adriving apparatus positioned on the frame for supplying power to thespeed reduction apparatus to move the disk receiving apparatus towardthe feeding/ejecting position or the data reading position; and a diskejecting actuating part positioned on the frame, including a gearportion for driving the speed reduction apparatus and a roll stemportion coaxial with the gear portion extruding along the central axis,a through hole disposed on the housing corresponding to the roll stemportion, when the driving apparatus does not operate normally, withoutdismantling the housing, the disk is ejected manually via sticking atool going through the through hole of the housing, turning the rollstem portion to rotate the gear portion and enable the speed reductionapparatus to move the disk receiving apparatus to the feeding/ejectingposition.
 2. The optical drive loader with a manual disk ejectingmechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the disk receiving apparatuscomprises a rack installed along its moving direction, the speedreduction apparatus comprises at least a first gear and a second gear,the first gear is driven by the driving apparatus, the second gear isdriven by the first gear and engaged with the rack, such that the diskreceiving apparatus is driven by the driving apparatus.
 3. The opticaldrive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism as claimed in claim2, wherein the gear portion of the disk ejecting actuating partcomprises a smooth toothless region formed on the edge surface of thegear portion, when the driving apparatus operates normally, thetoothless region is positioned at a specific rotation orientation toprevent the gear portion and the first gear from being cogged.
 4. Theoptical drive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the disk ejecting actuating part comprises apositioning pair to prevent the gear portion and the first gear frombeing cogged when the driving apparatus operates normally.
 5. Theoptical drive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the positioning pair comprises a bump and acorresponding shallow recession, the bump is formed on the surface ofthe gear portion and the shallow recession is formed on the frame, andthe bump coupled to the shallow recession to provide an interferenceforce to prevent the gear portion and the first gear from being cogged.6. The optical drive loader with a manual disk ejecting mechanism asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the disk receiving apparatus is a slot-intype disk clamping apparatus.
 7. The optical drive loader with a manualdisk ejecting mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diskreceiving apparatus is a tray.
 8. The optical drive loader with a manualdisk ejecting mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drivingapparatus is a servo-motor.